Listening to Poetry

There are so many different ways to experience poetry. I spent some time last week listening to poems on a list my college professor gave us. It was quite an experience.

There was one poem that just played music in the background while the video passed over the words in a jail cell. The words were written in what looked like blood. The effect was dark. It had the feel of some awful crime had presence there.

The poems that stood out to me the most, were the ones that were spoken with music in the background. The first one I listened to was spoken and shared with passion. It was powerful and carried a strong message. I was drawn in to the poem and was emotionally attached to it. I could connect and feel the power of it’s message.

I saw and heard multiple versions of “The Raven.” They were all a little creepy, with eerie music and an ominous speaker. One version was part of an episode of “The Simpsons.”

Music held a strong role in influencing how each poem affected me. When there was not music, I was less emotionally attached.

All in all, I feel like the poems held more power when I listened to them than they would have if I had just read them. That effect is dependent on the individual and how they think. I am one who would rather listen to the author read it. Words on a page can be misread, but listening to the author read allows for a more complete picture of the intended message.